More Than a Birthday
by XanimegrrlX
Summary: Fluffy Post-Reunion Birthday oneshot. Today is Shion's birthday, but that's not all. It's also the anniversary of the day he first met Nezumi. Because it's such a special day, Nezumi decides to do something big. Rated for lots of cutesy kissing and mention of alcohol.


Shion woke up to the sound of bacon and eggs frying. The spot beside him on the bed was still slightly warm from the body that had recently been inhabiting it. Shion got up , coaxed by the prospect of a breakfast made by Nezumi.

They had agreed some time ago that on days they had work Nezumi would cook breakfast and Shion would cook dinner, since Shion had work earlier in the day and Nezumi worked more in the afternoon and evening. Also, if one of them had the day off he would have to cook breakfast and dinner, and when both of them had the day off they would cook together. It was a simple system that allowed them to spend more time with each other, effectively synchronizing their morning and evening routines.

Shion quickly dressed and went out into the living room/dining room/kitchenette area. As he sat down Nezumi silently placed a plate of bacon, eggs, and toast in front of him as well as a cup of coffee, a little strong with lots of milk, just the way he liked it. Shion noticed that Nezumi was shirtless, wearing nothing but the pair of sweatpants he had slept in last night. Lucky! Today's breakfast would be a treat for his eyes as well as his stomach.

"Happy birthday," said Nezumi as he bent forward and gave Shion a quick kiss on the lips.

"Oh yeah, today's my birthday, isn't it?" said Shion dazedly.

Nezumi smirked and said, "Can't even remember your own birthday? You really are a scatterbrain."

Shion objected loudly to this, claiming that he had only just woken up. As they continued their bantering, Nezumi grabbed himself a plate and a cup of coffee. The conversation quickly turned into a lighthearted chatter. Upon hearing that Nezumi's theatre troupe would be performing _The Merchant of Venice_, Shion asked if he would be playing Portia, which Nezumi answered by emphatically reciting a rather lengthy monologue that started with, "The quality of mercy is not strained./It droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven,/Upon the place beneath. "

Sooner than either of them would have liked, the clock on the wall was displaying the time for Shion to go to work. Shion reluctantly stood up, put his dishes in the sink, and walked to the front door, escorted by Nezumi. Shion faced the taller boy, who was wishing him a good day at work, stood on his tiptoes, and placed a gentle parting kiss on his cheek before grabbing his jacket and making to open the door.

"Oh, and Shion," said Nezumi from behind him. Shion spun around, his hand still on the doorknob. "Come straight home once you get off work," he commanded.

"Why? You'll be at the theater anyway," said Shion.

"I got today off, of course," said Nezumi with a smile.

"And you didn't tell me?" huffed Shion, "If you had said something I could've taken off as well. Then we could have spent the whole day together!" Shion started pouting.

"Sorry, it slipped my mind," said Nezumi dismissively.

Shion was still pouting. He turned around and grumbled, "And you call me scatterbrained." Shion was about to go out the door when Nezumi grabbed his wrist and pressed his lips against the white-haired boy's hand. Slowly, after placing a firm kiss on each of Shion's fingers, Nezumi relinquished his grip on the boy's hand. Shion sighed irritably and left, slamming the door behind him, but Nezumi could tell that he was forgiven and that Shion was just acting like he was angry.

Nezumi closed his eyes and slowly counted out fourty-three seconds, using the ticking of the clock as a reference. He had counted before, it took Shion fourty-three seconds at his normal pace to get out of view of the apartment while he was walking to work. After the allotted time passed, Nezumi grabbed his jacket, locked the apartment, and left. He had no time to spare, for even though he had the day off, there was still much he needed to do.

* * *

><p>Nezumi paced back and forth in front of Karan's bakery. He had come here first because, of all the things he planned to do today, this was most important. He was anxious, trying to muster up the courage to follow through with his plans. Once he had done this there would be no going back. They could easily celebrate Shion's birthday by eating dinner together and getting a little drunk, he didn't have to do this. Nezumi furiously shook his head, trying to dispel those thoughts. He wasn't doing this because he <em>had<em> to, it was because he _wanted_ to.

The small bell attached to the door of the small bakery chimed. Karan turned and smiled kindly at her first customer of the day, and upon recognizing Nezumi, her motherly smile grew even warmer and kinder.

"Oh, hello Nezumi," she said gently.

"Good morning, Ma'am," said Nezumi while looking downward uncomfortably.

Karan saw that Nezumi looked anxious, so she put a comforting hand on his shoulder and said, "Can I assume you're here because today's Shion's birthday?"

"Um, yeah," said Nezumi, "I'd like three cherry cakes, please."

"Three?" said Karan, surprised. She then remembered that Shion's father had brought three cherry cakes home the day Shion had been born, and realized that Shion must have told Nezumi this once. She laughed gently at Nezumi's antics and felt very grateful that the man Shion loved cared about him enough to remember small things like this. "Sure, they'll be ready at one, can you come pick them up around then?" she asked.

Nezumi replied with, "Yeah, sure. Oh, and one more thing..." He leaned forward and whispered his request in Karan's ear while handing her a small object. She nodded and pulled him into a warm hug.

After she released him from her arms he cleared his throat and said, "Thank you Ma'am."

Karan giggled and said, "Nezumi, I've told you before to call me Karan, haven't I?"

"Oh sorry," said Nezumi with a slight blush as he walked out the door, causing the bell to chime again. Once he was outside he released a sigh of relief and continued on his way. He still had to stop by the liquor store, buy groceries for tonight's dinner, obtain some candles (for both the room and the cake), get Shion's presents (a ticket for his upcoming show, a new winter jacket, and some children's books he could read with Shionn, Karen, Rico, Lili, and Lili's little brother.), and return to pick up the cakes.

* * *

><p>Nezumi looked around the apartment satisfied. Two places were set at the table and some of his signature "Macbeth" soup was simmering on the stove. The presents were sitting in an obvious place on the counter, and the three cakes were hidden in the fridge. The candles were sitting on the table and other flat surfaces around the main room, lit and flickering joyously. He inspected the cherry moscato that he had selected at the liquor store; originally he had been planning to get some champagne, but he decided on this because it would go better with the cake, and besides, he knew from experience that Shion was able to handle wine strangely well (or at least without getting a hangover).<p>

Now all he had to do was wait. Soon his anxiety came back and he was pacing around the room, trying to find something to distract himself from the reality of what was about to happen. The hands of the clock seemed to taunt him, moving agonizingly slowly, and the room was filled with that annoying ticking noise.

* * *

><p>Shion practically sprinted out of his office. He was finally off work and was filled with curiosity regarding what Nezumi had planned for when he returned home. However, even though he had promised to return to their apartment right after work, he had to stop by a couple of shops to get some important items. After all, today was more than just his birthday, it was also the anniversary of the fateful day he had first met Nezumi, so Shion wanted to do something for Nezumi as well. He hid the items under his jacket, planning to surprise Nezumi after dinner, and ran home. As he got closer, his heart started fluttering and he almost couldn't contain himself as he dashed up the stairs, three at a time.<p>

He burst through the door panting, and Nezumi greeted him by simply saying, "You're late." Inside, though, he was letting out a sigh of relief.

"What?" gasped Shion.

Nezumi quickly advanced and pulled Shion into a deep kiss. Shion pulled away quickly, as he had already been out of breath from running, and being kissed on top of that really wasn't something he was physically capable of. Nezumi let out a disappointed grunt, and the two just stood there for a little, staring into each other's eyes. Shion noticed that there was something new in Nezumi's eyes. A look he had never seen in them before. It was close to concern, but not the same. His gaze kept drifting away from Shion's, like he was focused on something else, and the crimson-eyed boy had no clue why. It was almost like he was...nervous? Nezumi? Nervous? The idea seemed unfathomable, but nevertheless, that's what seemed to be the case.

"Three minutes and twenty-seven seconds," stated Nezumi, "That's how late you are. If you had left work and come straight home you would have come through that door three minutes and twenty-seven seconds before when you did. Also, you're panting, which means you were hurrying to get home and were still late. What were you up to?"

Shion was at a loss for words. He was slightly freaked out by Nezumi's knowledge of his schedule and also surprised that his being late had upset the older boy so much. Shion desperately groped for a suitable excuse and eventually found one, "My last meeting of the day ran late, I'm sorry." Nezumi scrutinized him for a few seconds before nodding his head in acceptance.

"I'm sure my lordship had a busy day at work, so why don't you go freshen up while I finish getting dinner ready," said Nezumi with a smirk.

Shion internally let out a sigh of relief, glad that he had hidden his gifts for Nezumi before entering the apartment, and that they hadn't fallen out when Nezumi had embraced him. He went into his room, placed the two packages on the bed under his jacket, and changed out of his formal suit and into his standard attire consisting of a cardigan, a white button shirt, and comfy pants. He then walked into the dining area, and lightly gasped at the warm and slightly romantic atmosphere.

"Ah, so his majesty is finally ready. May I suggest that he opens his presents first?" said Nezumi as he turned and smiled teasingly at Shion.

"You can stop calling me that anytime, you know," said Shion

"But today's his highness' birthday. It would be shameful to be disrespectful on such an auspicious day," said Nezumi.

Shion walked up to the counter, where he saw the pile of what he assumed to be presents. He smiled and said, "It's somewhat difficult to open presents when they aren't wrapped."

"I was so busy I must have forgotten," said Nezumi with a dramatic sigh, "I hope his majesty can find it within his heart to accept such pitiful gifts."

"If you got them for me then I'm sure I'll love them!" said Shion with his trademark blinding smile. He then proceeded to pick up the first item, a winter jacket. Honestly, he didn't need another, but he thanked Nezumi anyway. Beneath it was a small pile of three books: _The Happy Prince and Other Tales_, _Aesop's Fables_, and _Grimm's Fairy Tales_.

"I figured you'd like to have more stories to read to those kids," said Nezumi as Shion admired their covers.

Shion quickly embraced the other boy and said, "Thank you Nezumi." After some mutual hugging Shion pulled back and asked, "So what's for dinner?"

"Ah, so impatient," scolded Nezumi, "You still haven't appreciated all of your presents."

"What do you mean by that?" asked Shion as he picked up the books to place them on the shelves. As soon as he lifted them, he saw what was lying underneath. It was a VIP ticket to the opening night performance of _The Merchant of Venice_, as performed by Nezumi's theatre troupe. Shion gasped and nearly dropped the books he was holding. Tears started to prick the corners of his eyes.

Concerned, Nezumi asked, "Shion, are you okay?"

"Yeah," answered Shion, "I'm just really happy. Are you sure you want me to come to one of your performances? I thought you didn't like me seeing you as Eve."

"It's fine," said Nezumi with a smile as he reached a hand forward to ruffle Shion's hair. The tears quickly dried up and Shion burst out laughing. After he quieted down, Nezumi said, "And now, your highness, is the time we eat dinner."

"What is it?" asked Shion eagerly.

"Macbeth soup," answered Nezumi curtly.

"You didn't put stuff like wool of bat in here, did you?" asked Shion with a concerned look on his face.

Nezumi shook his head and said, "You wound me, your majesty. To think you have so little faith in the food I've carefully made for you. Of course I would never cook something that would be unpleasing to milord's delicate palate."

"I always dread the day you actually find those ingredients and make a real Macbeth soup," said Shion with a shudder.

Soon they were both seated and eating, and eventually Nezumi stopped calling Shion things like "his majesty". The atmosphere was light and, candles aside, fairly unromantic. It reminded Shion of the carefree evenings they had spent together in the West Block, though it had been years since they had been together in that underground room. Shion finished his bowl, and was about to stand up and put his dish in the sink when Nezumi stopped him.

"Where do you think you're going? We're not done yet," said Nezumi with a fake pout.

"What else is there?" asked Shion while sitting back down.

"Cake," said Nezumi. There was a miniscule sense of hesitation in his tone, and if Shion hadn't spent as much time with Nezumi he probably wouldn't have heard it.

"Cake?" asked Shion for verification that he had heard correctly. Nezumi wasn't a big fan of sweets, so the fact that he was suggesting cake surprised Shion.

"Yes, cake," said Nezumi as he picked up both of their dishes and placed them in the sink, "I got three cherry cakes, so you better eat a lot."

"Three?!" exclaimed Shion with a giggle, as he knew perfectly well the reason for the large amount of cakes.

Nezumi opened the fridge, pulled out the stack of cake boxes, and held them up for Shion to see through the hole in the wall that connected the kitchenette and the dining area. "Yes, three," said Nezumi in affirmation, "Now stay there and I'll bring you a slice."

Nezumi placed the boxes on the counter and took a steadying breath. On one of the boxes, "Happy Birthday Shion! I'll always love you. ~Mom" was written in Karan's neat pseudo-cursive handwriting. Nezumi opened that cake box, and inspected its contents with a scrutinizing eye. One of the pre-cut slices had a faint X marked into it with a knife, as if it were marking the position of some buried treasure. Nezumi quickly grabbed a birthday candle, pushed it into that slice of cake and placed the slice on a small plate. He then put another slice of cake on a plate for himself, lit the candle on Shion's piece, walked out into the dining area, and placed the two plates on the table in their respective places.

Shion smiled shyly at Nezumi and asked, "Can you sing for me?"

"Sing?" asked Nezumi doubtfully.

"Yeah, it's normal to sing to people on their birthday before they blow out the candles on their cake, isn't it?" said Shion with an innocent smile.

"Right," said Nezumi with a small sigh, "Well how about this one? It's a birthday song I learned in No. 3." He then took a deep breath and started singing.

Happy birthday, dearest Shion

May the wind bring you good fortune

May the sands of time bring you knowledge

May the sun bring you hope and joy

May your dreams and wishes come true

For the year to come and eternity

By the end of it, Shion was bushing. Nezumi leaned forward and kissed Shion lightly on the nose. "Make a wish," he whispered.

Blush still raging, Shion looked down at the cake, took a deep breath, and extinguished the candle. He then closed his eyes, his soft pink lips noiselessly muttering a wish. Once Shion opened his eyes, Nezumi asked, "So what did you wish for?"

The blush returned, and Shion stuttered out, "N-nothing! A-and anyway, I can't tell you. If I do, the wish won't come true." Nezumi had a slight smile on his face, but shrugged and took a large bite of his cake.

"Hey wait! Aren't you supposed to wait for the birthday person to take the first bite of cake?" exclaimed Shion.

"You were taking too long. And besides, don't you think that's a little childish?" asked Nezumi while taking another mouthful of cherry cake.

Shion looked down with embarassment and said, "O-oh, I guess you're right." He then started on his own slice of cake, though his bites were considerably smaller than Nezumi's. Soon, Shion noticed that the strange look was back in Nezumi's eyes, but now it was even stronger. Shion continued to take bites of cake as he tried to ignore it, but he couldn't. It was just too strange to think that Nezumi was nervous about something...Shion's train of thought was suddenly derailed when he bit into something hard.

"Are you okay?" asked Nezumi, his voice laced with concern.

"Yeah, I just bit something..." said Shion in confusion.

At first he thought it might have been a pit, but he then realized that the hard object was encased in cake, not a cherry. Curious as to what it was, Shion began to carefully separate bits of cake from the item while it was still in his mouth. As it became more defined, Shion realized that the item was a circle of what tasted like metal. Finally, he was able to spit it out without spitting out some of the cake as well.

Shion gazed down at the object in his hand. It was a ring. The ring was made of what looked to be white gold. The band was adorned with a fairly sizable diamond, which was surrounded by small rubies to make it look like a flower. The small piece of jewelry was probably worth a hefty sum, and Shion stared in awe at its beauty.

"What is this?" asked Shion once he had regained his senses.

"A ring," Nezumi answered promptly as he put on a cool facade. Inside, he felt like his stomach was being eaten by a swarm of not-so-happy ants.

Shion's gaze was locked on Nezumi's now. His eyes were unreadable, as if he had put up a protective stone wall. Shion suddenly realized what rings usually mean and lost his ability to breathe properly.

"Why?" asked Shion in a voice that was hardly more than a whisper. He had a sneaking suspicion that he already knew, but he wanted to make sure, just in case.

"What's with all these questions?" grumbled Nezumi, "You're smart, figure it out by yourself."

Shion did nothing but stare at Nezumi, his mouth gaping open like a fish. His face was paler than usual, and his eyes were bulging. Not really what one would consider to be an attractive expression.

"You're really going to make me say it, aren't you?" asked Nezumi with a sigh. He stood up and walked to Shion's side. With an elegant flourish, he knelt on one knee and grabbed Shion's hand, clasping it between his own.

"Shion," he said in a gentle tone, "Will you marry me?"

Shion's jaw was still hanging open. Inside, his mind was in chaos. A twisting, churning mass of ideas and emotions writhed inside him, each thought vying for control. There was joy, obviously. If this was real it meant that he would be by Nezumi's side forever. However, there was also fear that it wasn't real; that he was dreaming or hallucinating, or that Nezumi was pulling a cruel prank on him. He was also feeling love, of course, for the man in front of him, fear for what would happen next, and confusion as to why Nezumi was doing this. There was also a warm buzzing and a sense of desire for...something. However, even though he had all of this in his head, he couldn't express any of it in words.

That was a lie, there was one word that just might work.

Meanwhile, Nezumi was gazing anxiously at Shion. After he had asked, Shion fell silent, and soon after tears started to glisten in his eyes and roll down his face. Nezumi's initial instinct was to wipe the tear away, but he hesitated, his hand hovering an inch from Shion's cheek. He started to worry that it had been a mistake to ask that of Shion. All kinds of doubts started popping into his head. Why isn't he saying anything? Am I hurting him by asking? Do I even deserve Shion? I don't. But what if he says no? What will I do? I don't think I can predict how I would react to that. It would hurt, that's for sure. But what if that's for the best? And really, I probably wouldn't know what to do if he said yes either. Maybe I should ask him to forget it. It would probably be better if we just stay the way we are. Was I wrong to try to change our relationship?

Nezumi took a steadying breath. He knew it was cowardly to change his mind, but he was afraid of change. Deathly afraid; relationships still tended to terrify him. After another deep breath Nezumi said, "Actually, Shion...mayb-"

"Yes" Shion's voice cut him off.

That was the word. The word Shion needed to say. The word Nezumi needed to hear.

Shion took Nezumi's hand and pressed it against his cheek. Nezumi looked up into Shion's eyes, and they seemed clear and bright and beautiful, like a thick fog had just been blown away. Nezumi felt relieved.

"Yes...yes yes yes yes," Shion kept repeating the word, as if that one word could solve all the problems in the world. More tears fell from Shion's eyes, but they were obviously tears of joy. Nezumi lifted his other hand to Shion's face, pulled the boy closer, and kissed him deeply and passionately. Soon he pulled back, only to be dragged into another kiss by Shion. Nezumi felt a wetness on his cheeks, and he figured it was probably from Shion's tears. However, when they finally broke apart Nezumi realized that what he had felt were his own tears.

"Nezumi...you're crying," stated Shion with a concerned look on his face.

Nezumi lifted a hand to his own face and wiped away a tear that was lingering on his cheek. Confused, he said, "That doesn't make any sense, I'm not sad."

Shion laughed and said, "Maybe they're tears of joy."

"Tears of joy? That's stupid," grumbled Nezumi, "it must be you rubbing off on me...Hey, what are you grinning for?"

Shion then realized that what Nezumi said was true, he was grinning like a madman. Shion wiped the creepy smile from his face and, after some deliberation, said, "I think I'm glad that I was able to be the cause of your first tears of joy."

Nezumi snorted, "Well don't expect it to happen too often. And besides, you're the only person I ever cry for."

Shion smiled and said, "I know." Nezumi chuckled at this and wrapped his arms around Shion's waist, pulling him into an embrace. Shion returned the action by draping his arms around Nezumi's broad shoulders.

The tears soon stopped, and after a while standing there in comfort, Nezumi released Shion and took a few steps back. "We should probably finish the cake," he said as he sat back down in his seat.

"Right," nodded Shion.

And so, they continued to eat cake. In the end, Shion ate three slices, and Nezumi ate two. A large portion of the moscato was also consumed by the two boys. Afterward Shion put his plate and glass in the sink and was about to pack up the cakes when Nezumi said, "No. It's your birthday, so I should be the one to clean up."

Shion nodded and then suddenly got a look on his face like he had just remembered something. "Oh! My birthday! It's an important day...I almost forgot! Stay right there, Nezumi!" Shion yelped as he dashed into the bedroom.

Nezumi was a little confused, but shrugged his shoulders and continued to put away the cakes. He then went on to do the dishes. After about a minute he heard Shion come out of the bedroom, and soon after a length of dark fabric was suddenly wrapped around his neck. Nezumi spun around instantly and glared down at Shion, who was holding a the end of a scarf, the other end of which was around his neck. Nezumi didn't say anything, but he could tell by the look on Shion's face that he understood that the surprise scarf attack had freaked him out a bit.

"What are you doing?" asked Nezumi with a sigh.

"Well, today's my birthday, but it's also the anniversary of the day we first met, so I figured I should get something for you as well!" Shion explained with a calming smile.

"And thus the scarf?" asked Nezumi as he eyed the fabric awkwardly wrapped around his neck, it appeared to be a knitted scarf with a pattern of stripes in black and dark blue. "You do realize I already have the superfibre scarf, right?" he added.

"Yeah, but I figured you could use this every now and then to change things up," explained Shion, "Now put it on, I wanna see it on you."

Nezumi rolled his eyes and removed the scarf from around his neck and from Shion's hands. He then wrapped it in a more comfortable way, looked pointedly at Shion, and said "There. I'm wearing it, see?"

He then noticed an inconsistency in the fabric against his neck, as if the scarf had a knot in it. Nezumi pulled off the scarf to inspect it. Upon closer inspection, it seemed that the fabric was bunched together at one point and was being held by a metal band. Nezumi quickly worked the band off of the scarf and looked at it closely. It was a nice-looking ring made of silver and engraved with a wind-like design.

Nezumi looked up at Shion and asked, "Is this...an engagement ring?"

"You weren't the only one who thought today would be a good day to propose," answered Shion with an innocent grin.

* * *

><p>Inukashi was irritated. He had come to the bakery early to help get ready for dinner tonight and to wish Shion a happy birthday, but Shion wasn't there. Inukashi wound up sitting in a chair and getting impatient. In the meantime, Shionn had gone over to help Lili with some cheese muffins.<p>

"Karan, where's Shion?" asked Inukashi moodily.

"He's celebrating his birthday with Nezumi today," answered Karan.

"No fair!" pouted Inukashi, "It's a tradition for us to have dinner together here on his birthday. Nezumi can't just steal him like that."

"I think it's okay for them to share today together, they were apart for so long after all" said Karan with a smile, "And besides, I think that for what Nezumi's planning, it's best if they're alone."

Inukashi started to blush violently at the thought of what Nezumi could be planning. "Wha-what!? What's that filthy Rat scheming? If he does something to Shion I swear I'll..." Inukashi left his threat hanging.

Karan smiled warmly at Inukashi and said, "Don't worry, it's nothing like that. They're just having an important discussion. Though really, I'm a little worried for Nezumi. He still calls me Ma'am, even though I keep telling him to call me Karan. I wonder what'll happen now that he has to call me Mom."

Inukashi stared blankly at Karan for a while, but then he blanched when he figured it out. "What? Wait, Karan...by Mom do you mean...they..." he asked uneasily.

Karan smiled again, but didn't say anything.

* * *

><p><strong>Yay! I actually posted it on Shion's birthday! Sorry if there was any OOC-ness or awkwardness, I'm not very experienced with writing romantic stuff...<strong>**Were you surprised by the proposal? I hope you were. That was my goal at least. Well, maybe I failed my goal.**

**Review maybe? Maybe if I get enough positive feedback I'll write even more NezuShi stuff...**


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